Lecture 1: Introduction Happiness, Wealth and

PovertyDr. Ann T. Orlando

17 January 2013

Syllabus Review Paper Schedule Homily Requirements What is Happiness Augustine, On the Happy Life

Outline

Contemporary English and Philosophy Greek

◦ Philosophy◦ Bible

Latin

Happiness

‘Happiness,’ as Augustine says about time, “I know what it is until someone asks me to define it.” (Confessions, Book XI)

Possible components of happiness may be◦ Meaningfulness (satisfaction)◦ Contentment (pleasure)◦ Stability (tranquility)

Time scale◦ Moment to moment◦ Lifetime

Contemporary Notions of Happiness

Psychologists often think of happiness as rooted in the psychology of the individual, ◦ Opposite of depression

Philosophers often think of happiness as a state of well being or flourishing ◦ Value judgments about well-being◦ Social implications

Happiness: A State or an Emotion

Hedonism: Pleasurable experiences Desire: Getting what we want Objective: Engaged in ‘good’ activities;

based on value judgments◦ We take what is self-sufficient to be that which on

its own makes life worthy of choice and lacking in nothing. We think happiness to be such, and indeed the thing most of all worth choosing, not counted as just one thing among others’ (Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics)

Contemporary Theories of Happiness (well-being sense)

Croesus (595-547 BC), wealthiest of Greek kings in Asia Minor◦ Herodotus and others tells the tale of Croesus as prelude to

Greek-Persian Wars◦ And as a cautionary tale of human hubris

Croesus in his wealth and seeming happiness, asked the wise man Solon who was the happiest of men◦ Solon responds there were three genuinely happy men: Tellus

who died fighting for his country; and two brothers who died peacefully in their sleep after caring for their mother

Shortly after, the Persian King Cyrus conquers Croesus, and burns him on a large pyre

Solon’s adage: call no man happy while he lives

Croesus and the Cautionary Tale of Happiness

In early Platonic dialog Euthydemus, Socrates assumes everyone wants to be happy, and asks how to become happy◦ The desire to be happy is one of the few ‘self-

evident’ truths that Socrates accepts Questions of happiness further explored in

Symposium (focused on individuals) and Republic focused on society◦ In Republic Socrates says Croesus might have

been happy if he had looked to contemplation of wisdom rather than wealth and power for happiness

Socrates, Plato and Happiness

Primarily addressed in Nichomachean Ethics◦ Which begins by reminding readers of Croesus and Solon

Some external goods are necessary (but not sufficient) for happiness: good friends, children, money, health, physical beauty (1.73)◦ Without a sufficient amount of these one will be unhappy◦ Some of these are within one’s control through moral

goodness (virtue)◦ But luck or fortune also has a role in providing the

conditions for happiness Given that the external conditions for happiness are

met, a man can only be genuinely happy through contemplation (13.37-43)

Aristotle on Happiness

Epicurean notion of happiness◦ Absence of pain or mental anguish◦ To remove fear of eternal judgment, recognize that

there is no life after death◦ Curb physical desires to what is easily attainable

Stoic notion of happiness◦ Accept lot in life ordained by Providence as witnessed

by a life of virtue◦ Curb physical desires to what is provided by

Providence ◦ Example: Seneca On the Happy Life, one can be happy

on the pyre, as Croesus should have been if he with fortitude had accepted his fate

Epicurus and Zeno the Stoic on Happiness

Eudaimonia: Good fortune, happy◦ Most common term in Greek philosophy; includes a

sense of good luck◦ In Aristotle, this may be obtained through a good

moral life◦ In Epicurus something one achieves through

ataraxia, or mental tranquility Makarios: Fortunate, happy, blessed

◦ Often used in connection with happiness of the gods ◦ In Aristotle the highest form of happiness◦ Not attainable by humans (who are only mortal) in

Epicurus

Ancient Greek Understandings of Happiness

Felicitas: Happiness, good fortune, success (might be close to Greek eudaimonia)

Beatum: Happiness, blessedness (close to Greek makarios)◦ “The mere search for higher happiness, not

merely its actual attainment, is a prize beyond all human wealth or honor or physical pleasure.” Cicero, from fragment of Hortensius

NB in English, happiness comes from Old Norse happ meaning random chance, for example, haphazard

Latin Words for Happiness

One of (the) earliest work extant from Augustine◦ Written 386/387 in Cassiciacum◦ Dialog with those on retreat with Augustine prior

to their Baptism (see Confessions Book IX) Written while he was also writing Against

the Academics (Skeptics)

Augustine, De Beata Vita

One Book, 36 paragraphs divided among 4 sections Occasion is Augustine’s birthday party 1.1-6 Is an introduction and a ‘cover letter’ to

Theodore, a mutual friend of Augustine and Ambrose in Milan

2.7-16 Beginning of the dialog first examining the anthropology of body and soul, then moving to the consideration of the happiness of body and soul

3.17-22 Next day, the dialog continues; discussing the relation of God to human happiness

4.23-36 Third day begins in the baths; a discussion of need and happiness; the Trinity and happiness.

Structure of On the Happy Life

Opposition to skepticism Happiness and friendship Role of Monica Early Trinitarian understanding of Augustine

Themes in The Happy Life

Augustine, “On the Happy Life,” translated Roland Teske in A Trilogy on Faith and Happiness. 2012: New City Press, New York.

Brown, Through the Eye of a Needle, Preface, Chapter 10

Reread Augustine, Confessions VIII.7, the encounter with the ‘happy’ drunk

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